Who was Tank Man? The best reckoning, or at least the most widely circulated, is that his name was/is Wang Weilin. He looked for all the world like he was on his way home with a couple of bags of shopping when he just decided to say "No." The name first surfaced a few weeks later in the British Sunday Express (and that claim to his identity was also furthered by Chinese student protest leader Li Lu in his 1990 autobiography Moving the Mountain, which I've read). Some reports say he was executed two weeks later, another that he was executed by firing squad two months later; other unverified claims are that he's still alive and hiding out in mainland China, also that he escaped to Taiwan where he's been working either as an archaeologist or in a museum. In 1998 Time magazine included Tank Man on its list of the 100 most important people of the twentieth century.

I would like to be able to visit a memorial to him at this spot near the Avenue of Eternal Peace in my lifetime, but until that far-off and unlikely day the best tribute to him is the 2006 PBS documentary, at YouTube in 8 parts starting here (and most relevant to the present is part 7).

Peacekeeping lessons learned? In Shake Hands with the Devil, Roméo Dallaire describes the resourcing issues that plagued the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force in Rwanda in the months before the 1994 genocide.* The international community was unwilling to provide sufficient troops for the mission, and those that were provided were inadequately equipped. Vehicles were difficult to acquire. Even stationery was in short supply; situation reports could not be written for lack of pens.

That was then, this is now. What has the UN and the international community learnt from the experience of Rwanda more than a decade ago?

Take a look at this short film from the Pulitzer Centre, a US news media organisation. Listen as the UN personnel in Darfur, Sudan, explain that they lack proper communications equipment (such as thuraya) and describe the poor condition of their vehicles.

Lessons learned?

* Dallaire, R. 2003, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, Arrow Books, London. On equipment shortages in the early days of the mission, see pp. 106-107. On vehicles in general and personnel carriers in particular, see pp. 181-182.

Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela,A Human Being Died That Night: Forgiving Apartheid's Chief Killer, 2003As a result of her involvement with South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Gobodo-Madikizela went on to interview Eugene de Kock, the man dubbed "Prime Evil" by South Africans as a result of his years of covert government-sponsored violence against the ANC and other opponents of de Klerk's National Party. Clinical psychologist Gobodo-Madikizela has nothing to forgive de Kock for personally – she never lost any loved ones as a result of his campaign – instead her focus is on forgiveness as a useful tool (or otherwise) in a wider context, particularly as an alternative to revenge, when dealing with the actions of those who willingly destroy the lives of so many. Much of what she explores here is uncharted territory in terms of modern social experience, and where the focus of something like South Africa's TRC is rightly on the victims a degree of light also needs to be shed on the motives, conscience and possible remorse of perpetrators such as de Kock, who Gobodo-Madikizela now believes should be pardoned and released from his 212-year sentence. Some, such as the shameless Winnie Mandela, used the TRC in attempts to publicly absolve themselves of any guilt, while others exhibited an inability to empathise with the families of their victims at all. A useful, rare and rather far-reaching book in terms of what is humanly possible when dealing with extremes of violence at both national and personal levels.

After decades of repression, the Tibetans are sending out a global cry for change. Unrest is spreading across Tibet and neighbouring regions, and the Chinese regime is right now making a crucial choice between escalating repression or dialogue.

President Hu Jintao needs to hear that "Made in China" exports and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will have the support of the world's people only if he chooses dialogue. But it will take an avalanche of global people power to get his attention. Click below to sign the petition--in just 7 days, the campaign is over half way to the goal of 2 million signatures!

Americans are asking for Political Asylum...Why don't we hear about it?

There is no country in the world that understands propaganda more than the United States. Billions are spent at the Pentagon on what you hear and repeat. The mainstream news is a psychotronic parade as the democrats bumble and the reporters comment as though they are on the Bush administration payroll.

The truth is not reported. The public responds as a story of importance makes breaking news only to see it squashed in the next 72 hours. Americans are asking for political asylum and you are not hearing about it.

The government is torturing American citizens who are Whistleblowers- myspace Darren Gelbard, youtube Monarch Katherine Moore, and DIA Topoff to see electronic warfare torturing a U.S. citizen in 2007. Or, for those of you who think these victims are conspiracy theorists, there are the ADS military tests on youtube, 60 Minutes, and CNN. People being hit out of thin air by a ray beam. For real!

Weapons that can harm or kill you from a distance, without leaving marks if the operator so desires, are being used on people in their homes. There are interviews with U.S. citizens who are victims and with a Baghdad surgeon in which he states there are bodies in Iraq he and his team of ten Doctors have seen that are being killed by..."No bullets, no shots..arms cut straight off...we don't know what kind of weapon it is." A Baghdad Orchestra player also stated he saw bodies where..."Only the face was burned, no eyes..and the teeth. The rest of the body was untouched.

The Washington Post released an article called Mind Games in which the victims of psychotronics and V2K described what it was like to have someone mentally and physically torture you using communications and electronic warfare from a distance. And Russia is trying to ban Space weapons after Congress changed the bill that would have banned psychotronics years ago. This is the most dangerous game. Weapons that no individual can defend themselves against. Weapons that manipulate people and that torture and can kill you in your home with no warning from a distance.

Peace studies master's program in Southern California Does anyone know of a master's program for peace studies (or a similar program) in Southern California (more specifically, in Los Angeles or Orange County)? If not, perhaps the Bay Area? I saw a program at CSU Dominguez Hills, but maybe there are more?

I work for the American Refugee Committee in Chicago, and this year we're holding a fundraising luncheon in Chicago in support of the refugee camps we run in Darfur and other places around the world. Speakers will include ARC's country director from Sudan and John Prendergast, a Senior Adviser on Africa at the International Crisis Group in DC. Barack Obama is an honorary co-sponsor and may show up as well. The luncheon is being held November 3rd at the Hilton Chicago, and tickets are $150 each (with at least 90% of that going directly to refugee support). If you're interested in learning more about what's going on in Darfur and supporting refugee camps there, please email me and I'll get you an invitation.

Sorry if this is not allowed in the community, I can remove it if asked - but I thought some of you might be interested in this new community.

I'm a board member of ugandacalling, and we exist to raise awareness of and work for the end of the civil war in Northern Uganda, which has victimized many innocent civilians, particularly children, and left many homeless and desperately poor. We're trying to provide resources for local groups working on this issue - collecting petitions for groups to circulate, providing ideas for fundraisers for worthy projects, posting news articles and bulletins about Uganda, and letting activists and interested people get together to learn more and network with each other. And we still need lots of people to help us carry on all these functions and get us off the ground as a nonprofit - as well as community leaders who'd like to start something for Uganda!

If you're interested in learning more or helping out, please check out the community - everyone's very nice and positive, we'd love to see you!

ok everyone, a last ditch attempt at getting this community up and running. i was trawling all the lj comms to find it and was so excited so i refuse to be put off. Perhaps this is indicative of what it's going to be like for those of us who truely believe peace is possible. If any of you are still interested why not let us start some dialogue. What about three areas

a) literature relating to peace - books we've read, been told we should read, books we don't like, articles, poems, don't forget aural literature as well. Some of the most hard-hitting things i can quote come direct from people's mouths rather than from page-bound text.

b) what is peace? what does it mean you us? to those around us? is it the absence of war? does it exist ? give an example of a peaceful places or places where people are struggling in defence of peace.

c) what interests us most about peace? are there particular geographical areas which have caught our attention? if so why? perhaps you're interested in the theory behind peace and the academic study of it, what interests you or worries you most? perhaps its conflict resolution, ending the small arms trade, radical alternatives to prison, building a playground near your house or the campaign for nuclear disarmament - we want to hear it all.

you can respond to all, any or none of the questions above it's just a spring board really, a starting point.

Don't give up people, if there is no peace to be found outside my window please let me find it in my computer.

kid's stuff... I’m 7.5 months pregnant and looking for children’s books, baby’s books, and children’s/baby’s movies/shows that are enjoyable, educational, have good politics, and strong female characters. I’ve already thought of a few but I’m looking to stock up on stuff in the last couple of months before I give birth… any suggestions?X-posted a lot

Hi. The name's Migu. The last entry was two months ago, but I'm hoping this community is still alive.

Just a brief introduction: I first became seriously interested in peace studies and conflict resolution when I participated in a college-organised model United Nations. For those curious, I was in the General Assembly discussing the Middle-East Conflict.

I'm not terribly well-read, since most of my time is usually spent managing my school curriculum , which means I have to allocate time for the Maths and Sciences (much to my chagrin) and cut down quite a bit on Humanities reading that is not directly relevant to the topics discussed in class. I'm here to learn, contribute where I can and I hope to have many pleasant discussions with all of you!

Great morning Today morning I had been to college (yes during my vacations) as there was a lecture and panel discussion on Human Rights in conflict areas. Very good points depending on the role of the press and the USA were emphasised. The areas that were highlited are Palestine, Gujrat, Iraq, Yugoslavia and Israel. The more information I get about Palestine - Israel conflict and the whole GAZA issue the more confused I get about it. Anyways it helps me get more perspectives into my understanding of the problem. If anyone has more opinions on this topic they can please let me know.THANKS in advance.

I'm participating in a meditation marathon and ask for your support. The Sit for Change campaign is an innovative fundraiser for charities focused on human rights, families, and the environment including Amnesty International, Save the Children USA, Grist, Sierra Club and Shambhala Mountain Center. Please visit the link listed below for more information.

International Day of Peace

"The International Day of Peace was first established in 1981 by a resolution 36/67 of the United Nations General Assembly to coincide with its opening session every September. In 2001 the resolution 55/282 was strengthened to fix the date annually on 21 September and for it to be a day of nonviolence and cease-fire. The resolution was adopted ..."

If you please may, let us do one thing today: We all argue with others, especially those who are dearest and nearest to us. But today, tell three people (if possible, the three people you last argued with) what you appreciate about them, how much they mean to you and the important place they have in your life and in your heart. It doesn't have to be long or sentimental, but tell them. Then ask them to do the same in turn.

intro post and question Hi everyone, I'm new to this community and since it looks like things have been a little slow lately, I thought I'd make an intro post and ask a question.

Intro: My name's Christine and I'm a 22 year old Peace and Global Studies major at Earlham College. In order to get a PAGS major at Earlham, you need an emphasis in a particular area of study, and mine will be Conflict Transformation, which I will be completing by going studying in Northern Ireland this Spring Semester which I'm really excited about. Uhm.... I'm from Central California originally and like making junk art. I think that just about covers it.

Question: how do you see Peace Studies departments differing among state schools vs. private schools, religious schools vs. secular schools, large schools vs. small schools etc? Do you think any one type of school is better equipt to teach peace studies than others? I live near UCSB and while I've never known anyone that's been in their Peace Studies department, they are suppose to be very excellent, and I guess just recieved a pretty large grant to expand their program. I'm very curious as to what it would be like learning Peace Studies in a larger state school, because for me, Peace Studies has been so tied into Earlham's small campus and Quaker background. I feel like I've really been encouraged to see it as a spiritual discipline as well as an intellectual field, and it's been great knowing everyone in the department so well. I'm really thankful for all of that, but I also sometimes think it must be wonderful to have such a large, more diverse campus that might have more options for Peace Studies majors. I'd really love any insights from people who study Peace Studies at larger state schools.